Shades of Forgiveness
by yummymummy
Summary: Set after the break out - beginning of season 2 - Michael/Sarah romance/drama - can Michael stay hidden and can Sarah ever forgive him? Crap summary sorry, but read and review for yourself!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters – I'm just borrowing them to write a story**

Story set after the breakout in season 2

Chapter 1 – First glimpse

Michael stood in the large, imposing doorway; one arm leant against the cold stone wall, the other holding a mobile to his ear.

_Come on Sara, pick up_, he thought, willing her voice on the other end of the phone.

The rain fell heavily as Michael sheltered in the entrance of the church. He'd seen Sara there every Friday evening since his escape from prison – he'd spent the first few months keeping a low profile since Lincon's and his exonerations. He knew they were free men, but while Linc couldn't be more open about the fact he was an innocent man, Michael was unable to forget what he'd had to do to achieve it for them; the people he'd hurt.

Michael knew the route Sara took to church and the exact time she turned up. She stayed half an hour before taking the same route back to her flat – a ten minute walk. It wasn't that Michael didn't want her to see him, it was just that with all that had happened - Sara's overdose and rehab stint – because he felt responsible for it all, he had no idea how she felt towards him. He'd sent the origami birds to her and he knew she bought them to church each week because she would take them out as she sat in the back pew, holding them in her palm. Her actions in that at least gave Michael a sense of hope.

The phone went to voicemail for a third time before Michael gave up. It was an hour past when she was normally at church and Michael was unnerved.

_Why isn't she at church? If she's not at church or at home, where is she?_

Too many thoughts clustered inside his mind so Michael stepped into the rain to clear them – he found that as the rain washed away the dirt of the day, it also cleared his mind, restoring clarity and control once more. He decided to walk the route back to Sara's flat in the hope that she merely hadn't heard the phone, or didn't want to answer, and he might catch a glimpse of her in the window. He wouldn't have said hello if she had picked up, just hearing her voice would have been enough.

So now he stood in the shadow of Sara's building, looking up at the dimly lit third floor window. A light on indicated she was there, but Michael needed more than that. He waited another twenty minutes until finally he saw Sara walk across the room. He knew her figure by heart – her silhouette was as beautiful to him as ever. It took every ounce of strength he had not to run up the steps and reveal himself to her, but his head told him to wait. _She's not ready_, he told himself,_ she needs more time_,he convinced himself as he turned and walked back towards the centre of the city. Because even if Sara was really to see him, he knew deep in his heart that he wasn't.

Sara watched Michael's retreating figure as she counted to twenty. That was her technique when she wanted to act irrationally. Ten wasn't long enough. By the time she got to twenty Michael had disappeared. _It's for my own good_, she told herself, _you're not strong enough_. Yet Sara knew, like Michael, that if they were to meet, she'd have no idea what to say to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters – I'm just borrowing them to write a story**

Story set after the breakout in season 2

Chapter 2 - 

The warm autumn air brushed Sara's skin as you made her way to work. Without the need for a jacket, Sara enjoyed the feel of the breeze on her bare arms and legs. She's chosen a modest outfit for a first day; crisp, knee-length linen skirt with a fitted, short-sleeved blouse. It had taken her 3 months to find the courage to return to working life – a friend had suggested asking at the local women's clinic to see if they needed any help. The pay was minimal, but that had never been a deciding factor in any job for her.

The one major problem was that Sara was still reeling from the night before. She couldn't get Michael's face out of her mind. Purposefully not going to church, Sara had waited to see if Michael was still looking for her. She'd known he'd been watching her for about a month now – the first time she'd seen him outside the church, she hadn't believed her own eyes. And since then she'd seen him every week. Part of her felt protected and safe in the knowledge that Michael was keeping an eye on her, but another part still blamed him for everything that had happened – losing her job, overdosing and going through rehab again – no matter how much she wanted to be with him, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to forgive him completely.

Walking into the clinic, Sara felt alive again. She was in her element; helping people get better, making a difference in their lives. It wasn't the same, or as rewarding, as being in Fox River, but working with women and helping them physically and mentally in whatever was troubling them, somehow filled a whole in her life and gave her hope; maybe by healing other women she might also be healed in the process.

As Sara made her way home after a long day on her feet, Michael waited in the shadow of her doorway to check she came home safe. He was glad she'd actually started living her life again; it gave him a new sense of hope that the time when they'd meet again might be drawing closer. The warm breeze had been replaced by a chill in the air as Michael stamped his feet to keep them warm. Ten minutes later he heard the familiar clip clop of Sara's heels on the pavement; Michael moved quickly moved out of the doorway and down the side of the building before Sara saw him.

"Yeah it went ok," Sara said, as she walked up to the front door.

Michael leaned out to see she was on her mobile.

"Hang on a sec, I just need to get my keys out," Sara said as she fumbled in her bag. "Damn!" she exclaimed as her bag fell off her shoulder, bumping down the steps to the payment. "David, I'll have to call you back," Sara said, "Give me ten minutes," she added.

_David, _Michael thought. He hadn't heard the name before and couldn't think who Sara might know of that name.

Sara bent to collect her belongings; Michael's fingers itched to help her, he hated seeing her struggling but something still held him back. He hadn't planned it this way; he needed to think through the best way of approaching her – if he made the wrong move now, he could lose her forever. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Sara walking back up to the door. Her key in the lock, she opened the door, then paused.

"I know you're there Michael," she said softly, before pushing the door closed behind her.


End file.
